


Reading Time

by PastelNekomata



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Reading, Short One Shot, story time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25131241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelNekomata/pseuds/PastelNekomata
Summary: At the same time, every single day Maria would read to the tiny hedgehog that lived in her grandfather's lab, and every single day Shadow would soak up the attention and the story... but then one day Maria doesn't show up...
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Reading Time

**Author's Note:**

> I often feel the need to write some tender moments with Maria and Shadow, this was one idea I had circulating in my brain for a while. This is also my first story to post on here, so please enjoy Reading Time.

She had read it to him while he was in the tube, waiting for when it was time that he could come out, and while it was slightly muffled by the beeps, clicks and clacks, and other sounds of the lab… he could always hear her soft and tender voice read to him. Every single day, at the same exact time, Maria would come into her grandfather Gerald’s lab, and read to him. So of course, when Shadow came out of his solitary home, the young girl doted on the tiny hedgehog, she read to him…and took care of him. Shadow of course loved it all, and soaked up every moment of attention, especially when Maria read to him. Shadow heard tales of mystery, romance, and adventure…but the story he enjoyed the most was the one with the pictures… of a mouse being given a cookie. That was his favorite tale of all, and it wasn’t a surprise he had often asked Maria to read the story again once it was finished. So, Maria would. She’d open the book back up to the beginning and start all over, with that smile still on her lips as she tenderly held the tiny black and red hedgehog to her chest, in a gentle embrace. It always felt safe and warm in Maria’s arms…and reading time with Maria was Shadow’s absolute favorite time of the day. To hear her soft voice, and the gentle thump-thumps in her chest, as her arms held him close… Shadow wouldn’t have traded it for anything else.  


However, there was one day Maria didn’t come to the lab, and as Shadow clutched the picture book of the mouse and his cookies to his tiny chest, the hedgehog felt his lips form into a frown. He had never felt this way before… it was cold…and lonely in the lab, like it had been while he was in the tube, waiting to be released. So, the hedgehog sat himself down on the cool floor, and silently looked the book over as he waited for his companion. Though he fumbled at first with the tiny pads of his paws turning the pages of the book, Shadow listened to the paper rustle under his digits when he then turned another page. As Shadow’s crimson gaze moved over the words Maria had often read to him, the hedgehog would take in the pictures and the bold text at accompanied the image, then he’d blink and look up at the time. It was 11:45… she was late, and this wasn’t like Maria at all. She was always… what was that word he had heard the Doctor use before? Punctual? Shadow had often heard the Doctor call Maria a ‘punctual-girl’…and was always on time, but today she wasn’t…and that filled the tiny hedgehog with a strange feeling… concern.  


Suddenly the door opened with a loud whoosh, and Shadow’s tiny black ears perked up at the sound. “Maria?!” Exclaimed the baby hedgehog, his tail wagging happily; but it wasn’t Maria that walked in… it was her grandfather, the Doctor. As he gently closed the book, Shadow then staggered to his feet as he hugged the picture book to his tiny chest; “Where is Maria?” Shadow then inquired softly, padding up to the Doctor, and all the while his tiny paws gripped at the hardback book tightly, not wanting to drop or damage the tome.  


As the Doctor adjusted his glasses, he gave a small clear of his throat before speaking to the hedgehog. “I’m sorry Shadow, but Maria is unwell today…she’s in bed resting and won’t be able to read to you today.” Frowning now, Gerald looked down at Shadow before walking over to his computer; “Maybe when she’s better she can read to you, just not today….”  


Listening to this, Shadow blinked as he stared up at the Doctor ever so intently… Maria unwell? Needing to say in bed… the thought was foreign to the hedgehog. As his crimson eyes glanced at the book in his hands, Shadow then looked up at the Doctor, holding up the picture book to him. “Would you read to me Doctor?”  


“I’m sorry Shadow…I can’t right now…” Gerald replied with a deeper frown as he gazed back down at the tiny black and red hedgehog. “Maybe…later…” He then added before patting Shadow gently on the head.  


Even when given that tender pat, Shadow still felt strange inside… that lonely feeling blanketing over him, and the hedgehog didn’t like that feeling. Still he respected the doctor and nodded his head before leaving the lab without uttering another word. As he stepped out into the long hall of the Ark, Shadow gazed in the direction of Maria’s room… he had been to it a few times, and he knew his way around the Space Colony…. Looking down at the book, the hedgehog then glanced down the hall again, and that was when he had made up his own mind. Without a moment’s hesitation, Shadow walked straight towards Maria’s room, and didn’t stop until he reached his destination. Once he made it to the door, the small hedgehog gazed up at the towering metal entrance… something about that door, made a knot seize up in his tiny belly, and Shadow gave a hard gulp.  


“Maria?” The tiny hedgehog muttered her name as he raised his paw and gave a soft knock-knock on the door. “Maria, it’s me!” Hoping that he had properly announced himself, Shadow then sat down on the floor and opened the book. As the picture book took up his entire lap, Shadow used one paw to hold the pages down, while other would slowly turn to the next page. The reason Shadow did this, was so that he did not rip the book…this book was a treasure, something special to him…and he wanted to make sure it was always taken care of. Like how Maria took care of him. Once he made it to the first page, Shadow glanced back at the door behind him, then turned his gaze to the words Maria had read so often to him… words that he had either memorized verbatim… or he had actually followed along to the point he could really read the book. Taking a deep breath, Shadow closed his eyes for a moment, opened them up again…and then, he began to read. 

~ * ~ * ~

She had heard that knock on her door, a gentle one, but a knock no less. As her blue eyes fluttered open, Maria tiredly gazed through her blonde bangs at the metal entrance to her room. She had heard a tiny voice utter her name, just loud enough where she could tell it was Shadow calling out to her. Maria’s heartbeat raced, knowing her friend had come to see her, but then the moment of silence gave her pause… was everything alright? Maria had started to sit up and push herself out of bed, but that was when she heard it, those familiar words of giving a mouse a cookie, and that mouse soon following you home for a glass of milk to go along with the sweet treat. As Maria settled back down against her bed, pulling the sheets to her chest, the young girl eased against her pillow and closed her eyes. She focused on the words Shadow spoke, hearing that tiny voice read as loudly as he could…so that his voice would carry over to her and through the big metal door that separated the pair.  


During the time that Shadow read to Maria through the hatch, the young girl allowed the words to blanket around her and fill her with ease. As Maria felt a smile form upon her lips, she nuzzled closer to her pillow, hugging the cushion when sleep started to take her. That smile remained on the young girl’s face even when she had drifted off to sleep, lulled by the gentle reading of her dear friend Shadow. After all, this had always been their time to be together. A time where Maria would always read to Shadow, and no matter how many times he had said “Again?”, Maria would do just that… she’d read that tale again and again for Shadow. Now, Shadow was the one reading to Maria this time, but no matter who was reading to the other, this would always be their special reading time.


End file.
